Hoisting apparatus



Nov. 11, 1958 w. J. HERBST HoIsTING APPARATUS Filed Apri; s, 195e UniteThis invention relates to an improved hoisting apparatus and, moreparticularly, pertains to a hoisting apparatus which is particularlyadapted for use with die sets.

The prior art discloses a wide variety of hoisting means which areemployed with die sets or similar plate members of substantially uniformconstruction and large bulk. However, these prior art devices arethemselves of large bulk and cumbersome in operation. In addition, whenutilized with a die set member, movement of the die set other than in asingle vertical plane is usually impossible when the hoisted member isin an elevated position. Consequently, when the die set member iselevated, it remains in a single plane and is unable to be turned orotherwise moved for purposes of aixing a die member thereto or removinga die member therefrom, or otherwise engaging the dies affixed to thedie set surface. Y

It is an object, therefore, of this invention to provide a hoistingapparatus, adapted for use with die set members or equivalent platemembers, which enables thedie set to be pivotally moved in the elevatedposition in a full circle of 360 whereby both surfaces thereof arereadily accessible.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hoisting apparatuswhich is composed of a few components, all of which are simple andinexpensive in design.

It is another object of this invention to provide a hoisting apparatuswhich assures safety in the course of operation.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a hoistingapparatus which is adapted to be used eiciently with any of a largenumber of die set members or similar members which vary greatly in size.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a hoistingapparatus in which the supporting cables, comprising a part thereof,adjust their respective lengths to accommodate the size of the specicdie set member engaged.

The above and other objects will become more apparent upon proceedingwith the following description, accompanying drawing and appended claim.

ln one embodiment of this invention, a crossbar member, which iscomposed of a durable material such as steel and which is resistant toflexing or other distortion, is supported by means of cables or otherequivalent means. The crossbar is movable so as to be positioned above adie set member which is to be elevated and is disposed transversely tothe longitudinal axis thereof. Disposed on the periphery of the crossbarmember are two adjustable ring members which are securable to theperiphery of the crossbar member by means of set screws which threadedlyengage each of the ring members. Afiixed to opposed end limits of thecrossbar by suitable means are two flexible cable members of sufficientstrength to support any die set member to be engaged in the normalcourse of operation.

States Patent "ice The flexible cable members depend from the crossbatmember after rst passing through the adjustable ringA member disposedcloser thereto. lt is thus apparent that the flexible cable members havea portion thereof disposed parallel to the length of the crossbarmember,V

which portion defines the distance each of the adjustable ring membersis disposed from the nearer end vof the crossbar member. Each of theflexible cable members, after passing through its respective adjustablering members, depends downwardly, normally to` the crossbar member, andhas a plate member of steel, or other material of equivalent strength,attached thereto. Each of the plates has a keyhole slot disposed in thecentral portion thereof. It is the purpose of these slotted platemembers to engage in interlocking relationship, projecting stud membershaving a central reduced neck portion. These studs are affixed toopposed die set edge portions and disposed on an axis passing throughthe center l of gravity of an underlying die set member which is to beelevated. j

ln the normal course of the lifting operation, the crossbar .member islowered until it is disposed adjacent the upper surface of the die setmember to belifted.l The adjustable ring members are then fixedlypositionedon the crossbar member by means of their respective set screwsso as to have an interval therebetween substantially equal to the widthof the die set member to be elevated. The interval between each endlimit of the crossbar and its adjacent adjustable ring should alsov oeequal. Consequently, the lengths of the dependingy flexible cables must,of necessity, be equal. The plate members, having the keyhole slotsdisposed therein with.

the narrow portion of the slot disposed at the lowermost portion of theslot, then engage the opposed stud members afxed to the die set member.This engagement is effected by means of the reduced neck portion ,ofeach stud member interlocking with the keyhole slot disposed in each ofthe depending plate members. Since the opposed stud members are disposedin an aligned relation with respect to the center of gravity of the dieyset member, the latter, upon being elevated, may be turned with ease andaccess readily had to the undersurface or any other surface portionthereof.

For a more complete understanding of this invention,y reference shouldnow be had to the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the hoisting apparatus ofthis invention engaged to a die set member, and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the die set disposed over adie setmember prior to engagement therewith.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. l, ahoisting apparatus 10 is illustrated disposed above two cooperating dieset members 12 and 14 which are adapted to have die members, not shown,aflixed to their opposed surfaces 16 and 18, respectively. Such opposeddie members kare adapted to mutually cooperate during the reciprocalmovement of one or both die set members on guide posts 46, asillustrated in Fig. 2.

The hoisting apparatus l0 comprises a crossbar member 20 which may besupported by the two cable members Y22 of equal length. The two cablemembers may be securedv to the opposed end limits of the crossbar bywelding or other suitable means and are secured at their remaining endlimits to a supporting ring member 24 which may, in turn, be supportedby a main cable member 26. Dis` posed on the periphery of the crossbar20 are two adjustable ring members 28, each of vwhich is tapped,enabling set screws 30 to threadedly engage the. tapped apertures andxedly secure each of the adjustable ring members 28 yto the periphery ofthe crossbar 20.

Two cable members 32 depend from the crossbar 20 and comprise twosupport means which are adapted to engage either of the underlying dieset members 12 or 1A, eed elevate., thev It Wil-1 be nete@ that theelipaerfieg, eellee ereefixed et. their` upper eedl limite, als"illustrated, by means ofwelding, o r other means of sei 'rement'fatSAtothe opposed end limits1 of the sbar 20. will als'owbe noted that eachof the flexible cr eable'fmembers' 32, beforey depending toy engageVtheudie set'menibers', pass through the adjustable ring member which isfdisposed adjacent thereto. i

"'t'x'ed to ythev'lower end limit,` of each cable member 3'2fis',irithis instance, a'l

p'late'memberl 36." Thefpoint off connection between a cable' 32vand aplate 36 is Such asy to enable-the plates 'to' hang'with their opposedsur? ffces disposed substantially parallelto the adjacent sidesoffthedie'se't members. Disposed in each of these plate members isakeyhole slot 3S which, as seen more clearly n'Fig". 2,h'asV a narrow'bottom portion'38a and an enlarged upper'portion 38b communicatingtherewith. Fixedlyfsecurei in this instance, to opposedlongitudnalfedges orV vsidesmof each die set member 12 or 14 arelaterally projecting stud members 40, each of which has a reducedcentral neck portion 42, more 'clearly' seen in Fig.' 2..l The studmembers 40 are disposed along alitrans'vers'e, Vaxis'passing through thecenter'of gravity of "af die 'set memberV 12 or`14, for purposes whichwill hereinafter be made' apparent.

""r theI normal course of operation, the interval betweenadjustablerings 28 must iirst be set on the crossbar and shouldbesubstantially equal to the width 'of the die slet to" be raised in themanner illustrated in Fig. 2, whereby the cable portions 32, dependingfrom said rings 2 8, are substantially parallel. Itis also apparentthat, for purposes of balance, the intervals between each adjustablering 28 andthe end limit of the crossbar disposed closer thereto shouldbe substantially equal. Notches orY other markings 21 may be disposedalong the length'of the bar 20 to facilitateproper positioning of the,rings 28. 1

""I n"attaching the plates 36 to the stud members 40, the'crossbarmember 20 is initially lowered a suicient distance to enable the 'studmembers 40 to pass through theeorresponding slot portions 38b so asl topermit the reduced neck portion 42 of each projecting stud membe'rf40 tobe seated in slot portions 38a. After such engagement, the stud membersare securely locked inV th'efplates, 'and relative Vlateral movementbetween the die] s et member, engaged, and the plate members isbviat'ed. After the plate members '36 have'engaged the studfm'embers' 40and interlocked therewith, the hoisting apparatus iselevated by anappropriate motive means, ofshown, along with the die set memberengaged. It will be` apparent from Fig. 1 that, since the stud members4Q are disposed along an aXis passing through the center Qf'gravity ofan engageddie set member, the latter may longer must be the dependinglength of each cable 32. AsV the width of the die set member decreases,the interval' between the adjustable rifjgs 28 will correspondinglydecrease, and the length of the depending cables 32 will be decreased.Consequently, because of the arrangement whereby the supporting cables32 pass through the adjustable rings 28, the hoisting device 10 willcompensate for the size of the die set engaged.

The release of a die set member, engaged, is quite simple. After theappropriate work has been done on the elevated ldie`set memben'itis'fflowered to engage appropriate guide posts 46 or other, cooperatingequivalent parts and lowered asucient amount toen'able the plate members36 to become disengaged from the projecting studs 40. This latterdisengagement is relatively simple and is effected merely by pushing theplate member 36 in a downward direction enabling the projecting studtopass through the enlarged portions of the keyhole slots. 38.

While the studs 40.,are illustrated as beingrdisposed" on the oppositeelongated edges of one of the die sets, they may, if desired, be,disposed. at the center of gravity of the opposed end faces of the dieset. Likewise, while plates 36 are shown provided with keyhole-typeslots 38, it, is within the scope of thisinvention for the plates to beprovided with transversely extending pins which might removablyengageselective bores formed along the edges of the die set.V be unbalanced.by reason ofthe arrangement of the dieA members, not shown, on the facethereof, a guide cable, not shown, may be aiixed` to,A the light side ofthe die setl so that thek operator might readily counterbalance` theweighty, side of the die setl by pulling downwardly on the cable soastoy maintain the die set ina substantially horizontal plane.

While the apparatusl has,l heretofore, beenA described in relation'to ahoisting operation, itis tobe understood, of.

` course, that it has application 1'I1v handling a hfaVYWOr-k piecein,forexample, a` horizontal plane Where sliding,

s uch workpiece from one place to a second place in the same plane isdesired. Likewise, the apparatus is readily,

adapted for the, `location 0f,- one die s et with respect` to another,when the latter is not disposed in horizontal plane.

It is thus apparent that a hoisting apparatus particularly.

adapted for usevyithv die set members has been provided whichisei-licient inl operation, simple indetails. of conf struction and which,in the normal course of use, because.

` ofthe novel methodofengagingthe dieset member, may

be p ivoted about such axis with ease when the die set is Vin anelevated position so that access may be readily had to the undersurfaceof either die set member. It

will lalso be apparent from Fig. l that, since the hoisting apparatusand the engaged die set member are suspended by a" single cable lmember26, the entire apparatus may be rotated in a horizontal plane tofacilitate access to variousl surface portions of the die set. The upperend limit of the cable 26 may be connected to a common universaltype'joint, well known in the art, which allows the cable torotatewithout twisting thereof. Also, the cable 'may obviously be aixedto an overhead motive means, not shown, which in addition toreciprocally moving cable 26 and parts attached thereto, may transportthe same along a monorail or the like. i

The length of the cable members 32 should be such as to enablethe diesetmember, engaged, to rotate a full` 180..J without engaging vthecrossbar`20. It will be noted that the wider'the. die setVmemberfengaged the be. freely, moved in` theY elevatedA position.whereby access to4 the desired surfaces thereof is readily had.

It is obviousA thatwmany substitutions. and modilications.

ofjtheillustrated device may be, effected which will still remainwithintheinventive concepts'herein disclosed. It is intended, therefore,that. this invention be limited only by the scope ofthe 'appendedclairnI claim:

In a hoisting apparatusv for die sets or the like, a horizontallydis'posed,"elongated, rigid supporting member, two flexible oablemembersvaiiXed tovopposed end limits of said supporting member, a pair ofcable-engaging means operatively connectedto saidcable members andmounted on, said supporting, member 'for independent, longitudinal`movcmentfwith vrespect thereto to predetermined positionsof adjustmenton saidsupporting member, the lengths ofthe portions of saidcablemembers` depending fromsaidrsupporting member being dependent upon thepredetermined positions ofv adjustment of said cable-.engaging means onSaidsupporting member, and locking means cooperatingwith each ofsaidcable-engaging means and said supporting member to. retain said-ca'bleengaging means in selected positions of adjustment.

(ReferencesL on following page) e Furthermore, if thehoisted die setshould.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS HunerMay 24, 1881 Ruppert May 23, 1905 5 Parker Aug. 22, 1922 Ober Nov. 25,1930 Webster Feb. 11, 1936 6 Mussey Ian. 2, 1940 Myers Apr. 9, 1940Korner Mar. 23, 1943 Ashenden Dec. 31, 1946 Stewart et a1. Dec. 23, 1952Anderson Oct. 25, 1955

